Father and Son
by krissystvs
Summary: Gaius and Merlin didn't get enough screen time in my idea so here a selection of one shot's detailing the things they did when the camera wasn't there. Requests are accepted - story 1: Room arrangements


**OK so I know I'm rubbish at updating and I really shouldn't post more yet but as this is a selection of one-shot stories there's no cliffie's so you don't have to worry about waiting. Enjoy!**

 **Room arrangements**

Walking into the old pharmacy once again after a long hard day of chores, Merlin looked around to his new surroundings. He'd been living with Gaius the physician for over 2 weeks now and after becoming Manservant to the Prince of Camelot, Prince Arthur the young warlock was slowly adjusting to life in Camelot. Although upon his search, he came across a small bed isolated in the corner of the room. He walked over to it and upon closer inspection; he noticed it was the bed Gaius slept in. And looking at it, it wasn't exactly the most comfortable of places to sleep in.

The mattress was in pieces, the quilt was torn and the blankets were barely big enough to cover a small child. Merlin winced knowing that this was where his Uncle slept every night. He thought back to his own room, the mattress in there was a lot better looking than this one (it was all in one piece for one) and he had a bigger blanket. Suddenly an idea came to him. Quickly rushing into his room, he picked up the large blanket that covered his bed and quickly swapped it with Gaius tiny one. Looking back at the bed he inspected it to make sure that Gaius wouldn't pointedly notice the change. That was when he noticed the different colours. He smirked knowing the easy way to fix that.

" _M_ _utare color_ " He said, turning the colour from the peachy colour to the murky green Gaius' old one was. He suddenly heard the door opened so he stepped away from the door as Gaius entered. Seeing the suspicious smile on Merlin's face made Gaius question hat he was up to.

"And what might you have been doing in the time I haven't been here young man?" He asked crossing his arms. Merlin shrugged innocently. Gaius just shook his head and walked over to his workbench sitting down and placing his reading glasses. "Well provided, it's not anything illegal then I'm sure I can trust." Merlin smirked.

"Gaius, me being alive is illegal, so that would make everything I do illegal." He pointed out. Gaius just glared at the boy and Merlin hurried out of the room saying that Arthur needed him. The old physician simply shook his head smiling.

"Goodness, what will that boy do next?" The man questioned.

 **. . . . . . . . . . . .MERLIN.**

Nearly 3 hours later, long after the sun had set and the moon was out, Merlin wearily trotted upstairs to the physician's chambers. Once he was there he quietly snuck past the sleeping Gaius but not before smiling knowing his swapping the blankets over was doing Gaius a world of good. He went upstairs to his room and immediately fell on the bed curling up tight into a ball as to cover as much of his body with the blanket. It was uncomfortable but knowing he did this for Gaius was what made him fall asleep nearly an hour later.

 **. . . . . . . . . . . .MERLIN.**

Merlin awoke to someone shouting to him.

"Merlin!" Gaius shouted from the other room. Merlin rubbed his eyes, desperately trying to get rd of the sleep out of them. He knew Arthur would comment later unless Merlin looked as best as he could.

"Coming!" Merlin replied. Quickly looking around for a shirt he caught sight of the small blanket on the floor. He'd obviously kicked it off sometime in the middle of the night. Merlin groaned knowing that was what had kept him up all night. Slipping a shirt and trousers on he quickly rushed out the door. "Sorry Gaius." He apologised to his Uncle. Gaius just looked at him

"It's not me you should be apologising to. It'll be the prince who you've kept waiting." Merlin blanched.

"I'm not that late am I"? He begged. Gaius simply shook his head.

"Define _that late?"_ He asked smirking. Merlin just dropped his head and picked a sandwich off the table and quickly ran off to the prince's chambers.

 **. . . . . . . . . . . .MERLIN.**

Upon arriving to the Crown Prince of Camelot's chambers, Merlin was met with a scowling Arthur, with his arms crossed and his foot tapping on the ground. Merlin looked at him sheepishly, or at least, as sheepishly as he could considering how tired he was.

"What time to you call this?" Arthur angrily asked scowling still. Merlin lightly blushed.

"Sorry Sire, I accidentally slept in this morning... it won't happen again" Then he smiled. "At least not until tomorrow" He finished jokingly. He saw Arthur's mouth curl up a little but it went back down again and he walked over to Merlin and slung an arm round his shoulder.

"Well we'd best make sure you get as much done as you can now, so that it makes up for how late you are today and how late you claim you're going to be every morning." Merlin's shoulders sagged.

"Yes _Sire!"_ He said in a deflated voice. Arthur simply laughed and gave Merlin a little shove. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but the Prince enjoyed Merlin's banter from time to time.

"Come on." He said sighing "We need to start training the new recruits today. And if I remember rightly, the Shield stand isn't up to scratch at this present time so guess what you 'll be doing Merls?" He asked sarcastically. Adding the familiar nickname he'd unconsciously developed since Merlin first began to show it wasn't being mean. Merlin gave a grimace

"Oh yay, my favourite part of training. Do you want me to walk around kissing your boots too while I'm at it." He asked mockingly. Arthur just laughed.

"Well, if you want me too consider it..." But Merlin didn't wait for an answer before rushing out to the armoury. Arthur just laughed after the lovable servant and headed out to the training field

 **. . . . . . . . . . . .MERLIN.**

It was a lot later that night that Merlin wearily trudged back to his room, giving Gaius a light smile as he passed.

"Let me guess." The Physician pondered "The new recruits were really trying to impress Arthur today, were they not." He asked the weary Warlock as he sat down on one of the patient beds. Merlin just gave a shaky nod and let Gaius rub is shoulders in a calming manner.

"Sometimes I wonder if it's just Arthur who puts up with me. I think some of the other knights just hate me." He whispered sadly. Gaius stopped for a moment. He pulled up a stool next to Merlin and brought Merlin's head to his chest. The young Warlock gladly welcomed the embrace after quite a torturous day. Gaius gently stroked his hair in a fatherly manner.

"It _will_ get better Merlin. You just have to believe that. Just think what an effect you've had on Arthur, he's not as much of a; how do you say it, a prat." He heard Merlin give a little laugh at the insult.

"But he won't stick up for me, I could pretty much see him trying not to laugh as some of the bigger knights used all their weight on the shield I was trying to hold." Gaius just gave a sad sigh.

"Well I'm sure Arthur himself is trying to adjust. You have had quite an effect on him. And it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest that some of those knights aren't happy that Arthur doesn't act like he used to anymore. They need someone to blame and I'm afraid you were picked." He heard Merlin laugh again, but there was a hint of hurt in it.

"Nothing new there then." He said simply. Gaius was a little confused, not knowing what Merlin meant, but looking out the window to the falling sun, he realised there'd be no point pondering on it now. He gently gave Merlin a pat on the shoulder.

"Come on then, I've left you some soup boiling over by the fire, there'll be a bread roll around somewhere." He stood up and left Merlin to get the soup. Just as he was leaving he heard Merlin call out his name. As he turned round Merlin gave a small smile.

"Thanks Gaius, I'm not sure what I'd do without you here." He said timidly. Gaius just gave him a smile and a nod, and then proudly walked out the door. As soon as he'd left, Merlin went over to the boiling soup. He stupidly tried grabbing the lid and burnt his hands because of it. "Ow!" He squealed. He looked around the room for a towel to lift the lid of with, and his eyes once again came upon Gaius' bed. He'd wanted to repay the old man for his kindness, but he wasn't sure. He'd already changed the blanket on the bed and he wasn't sure what else he could do. Then he caught sight of the crumpled out Mattress hidden underneath the cosy blanket. His brain quickly formed what he could do to help out. He began to lift the mattress but then he felt pain in his finger from where he'd burnt it before. Secretly pondering how he was going to get this annoying mattress up to his room and swap the two was a wonder to him. Then he simply smacked his head in idiocy.

"Idiot Merlin!" He yelled at himself. "What have you been using the last god knows how many years?" Silently mumbling about talking to himself is the first sign of madness, he let the magic flow through his body as he concentrated on the mattress in front of him. Surely though, the mattress eventually lifted up and Merlin made it float to the other room. He wandered into his room to see the now grounded mattress on the floor and then to his own mattress. His mattress was a lot comfier than Gaius' and if it meant repaying the kind old man, Merlin was more than happy to lose a few hours of sleep. He pushed the mattress of his bed, carefully trying to mind his burnt fingers. Once again making Gaius' mattress float he lifted it onto his own bed. Then gently guiding the other mattress (not before looking to see if anyone was around) onto Gaius' bed he gently set it down and put the blanket on top. Just in time too.

"Merlin, what are you doing over there?" A confused and slightly suspicious Gaius asked, with his arms crossed he waited by the door for an explanation. Merlin thought Quick, going back to how he actually ended up by the bed.

"Erm... I was looking for a towel or a cloth to lift the lid up with." He sheepishly held up his burnt fingers, the tips going slightly dark. Gaius just smiled and shook his head, guiding Merlin over the patients bed, he went over to his cabinet to get out a bandage.

"I can't leave you alone for 5 minutes can I my boy." He said mockingly. Merlin gave another sheepish smile.

"Actually I lasted Ten minutes, but yeah you're right you probably couldn't." Gaius just laughed as he wrapped Merlin's burnt digits up and set to work serving up the soup to Merlin, who from such a long day, was falling asleep as he sat there. He placed the bowl in front of Merlin

"Why don't you finish as much as you can, then you can go on up to bed. You look positively dead on your feet." The physician said tiredly. Merlin just gave a nod and had a few spoonfuls. Before long the fatigue caught up with him and he couldn't eat anymore soup. Gaius looked on sadly.

"Merlin you are far too thin to not eat at least half a bowl of soup." Merlin just looked wearily at him.

"Sorry Gaius, it's... I'm just too tired to focus on my senses." He stood up, accidently knocking the stool over in both clumsiness and tiredness. Gaius just looked on in amusement. "S...sorry Gaius." Merlin mumbled. He gave up trying to put it back under the table and simply wandered up to his room. He didn't even bother to get under the small blanket, he simply fell onto the lumpy mattress and fell into a restless sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

 **. . . . . . . . . . . .MERLIN.**

The following morning, Merlin had already left and Gaius took advantage of his quiet morning to tidy around the workshop for a bit. Being the kingdoms only court physician it wasn't often he got himself a day or two to himself, but with Merlin's help, the workload of his daily rounds had lessened and he couldn't be more grateful. Mumbling to himself he started looking for his cleaning materials.

"now where did I put that broom I wonder?" He spoke out loud to himself. There was no sign of it in his chambers till he remembered he'd lent it to Merlin so the boy could get a start on his room. Gaius scowled a little knowing that was over a week ago. This meant either Merlin had forgotten to give it back, or the boy's room was still a bomb site. Gaius laughed humorously upon entering the room to see his second option was the correct one. "How can that boy have so little and create so much mess." He once again thought out loud. Upon finding the broom in the back corner of the room developing cobwebs, Gaius turned to leave, but something caught his eye. The blanket on Merlin's bed. He picked it up and studied it.

"Why, this is exactly like my blanket, I could swear the one in here was peach, and a lot bigger." He mused out loud. Now further into his investigation Gaius felt the mattress under his hands and recognised the familiar feel of his own wrinkly mattress. He pondered on these thoughts even after leaving the room. He walked to his own bed and noticed one or two significant changes. Earlier he had ignored these subtle changes but upon his search he found them to be quite obvious. "His" blanket was larger, newer and looked to be comfortable. The same could be said for his mattress. Contrary to the mattress found in the other room , this one was fresh, and the only wrinkles were from where he had slept the night before. Gaius suddenly felt very suspicious of what his ward was up to and he decided to confront the secret warlock once he returned that night.

 **. . . . . . . . . . . .MERLIN.**

Just like the night before, Merlin trudged wearily into the comfy chambers intent on trying to get a decent night's sleep with no problems. What he didn't expect was to find Gaius waiting for him on the patients bed. Merlin looked slightly worried, because he'd not seen Gaius look this sullen before.

"Gaius... is everything alright?" He asked cautiously. Gaius simply nodded and patted the spot next to him and Merlin obliged by sitting next to him. Gaius said nothing for a few moments but he eventually reached down to his other side and held out his blanket...or well... Merlin's blanket...

"Merlin... what are you doing?" he asked the teen. Merlin shook his head in confusion

"Erm... mind filling me in a bit Gaius." he asked with a small laugh but Gaius didn't return it.

"This, Merlin, is _your_ blanket. What I want to know is how to it came to be on my mattress; which might I also add is yours, and change colour from its usual peach." Merlin opened his mouth to come up with some sort of excuse but he remained silent. Gaius realised he wasn't getting anything out of the young warlock so proceeded further. "And another thing, the mattress in your room is _far_ to worn to have been used for only a short while. Whereas my mattress, the same one I have used for the last however many years looks in the same state as one similar to royalty." He slowly raised his eyebrow in an attempt to get Merlin to confess.

"Oh Gaius please...please don't raise the eyebrow of doom, you know it's one of my only weaknesses." Merlin joked with a tad of seriousness to it. Whenever Gaius raised his eyebrow it could make even the toughest sorcerer confess (but the King didn't need to know that tiny detail.) In response to his merciless begging, Gaius raised his eyebrow even higher. "Alright I give, I give." Merlin held his hands up in surrender. "Look the thing is... I just wanted to pay you back for everything, you know, taking me in, giving me everything I could have asked for, not to mention saving my head every other day." He rambled. Throughout this, Gaius expressions changed, ranging from surprised, to humoured, to sad to finally understanding.

"Merlin while I am grateful for the gesture, it is not necessary for you to give up your own comfort and well-being for my sake. I can see the discomfort of your bed has left you deprived of sleep, which myself being a physician concerns me."

"But Gaius, back in Ealdor I often slept on the ground and I managed ok without too much sleep." The teen protested. Gaius shook his head.

"Regardless of that, Camelot is much richer place than Ealdor and you should find yourself fortunate that you are able to have such luxuries as a stable home, with hot food on the table and a warm, _comfortable_ bed." Gaius said hoping to get into Merlin's weak spots. Merlin gave a shy nod

"Alright Gaius, but really your bed is so uncomfortable, you must struggle to sleep at night too. And I've seen it, these last few nights you've had more sleep." Merlin commented "I don't want to take that away from you." Gaius pondered.

"But I can't just let you sleep in a rickety bed for the rest of your time here, you're busy enough without being sleep deprived." He countered. Merlin thought for a moment then snapped his fingers

"I've got it, why don't I just buy a new one at the market, I can put aside some money from my wages each week so I can afford it." He offered happily. Gaius gave a smile

"Are you sure Merlin, It's your money, wouldn't you rather spend it on yourself." Gaius asked. Merlin shook his head

"I've never had so much money before Gaius, I wouldn't know what to spend it on, so I'd be glad to spend it on this"

So later that week, Merlin travelled into the marketplace and visited the stall selling bedding and mattresses. When the stall holder heard it was for Gaius she dropped the price down to help Merlin afford a decent bed that would last for years to come.

 **And I'll stop there. Ok, so this is a new story made up of random one-shot's based on the lives of Merlin and Gaius. Sometimes they will be based on episodes other times, just my imagination. If you would like to request anything please do**

 **Hope this holds you all till I have time to update again**

 **Krissystvs**


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